Caption on a nature site: "Ruby-_Throat_ Hummingbird"

[Arnold Zwicky]

background on "ruby-throat hummingbird":

Wilson Gray:

>>>
>>> Till now, I'd been under the impression that the hummingbird was
>>> called "ruby-throat_ed_."

AMZ:

> this example is unclear, since it could be a reinterpretation, as 'hummingbird with a ruby throat'.

then: On Jul 8, 2012, at 6:03 AM, Charles C Doyle wrote:

> Like "white-tailed deer" (2,770,000 raw Google hits) vs. "white-tail deer" (780,000 hits).  The OED acknowledges both forms.

this one could easily have originated in t/d-deletion (which has now become lexicalized, with the two versions as alternatives, as in "iced tea" and "ice tea").  that is, first phonological reduction, then reinterpretation of the result as a N + N compound.

but "ruby-throat hummingbird" is another thing, since the syllabic -ed affix would not undergo phonological reduction.  but both N1-ed + N2 and N1 + N2 composites are available in the language with the meaning 'N2 with a N1' (especially so when N1 is itself composite), so N1 + N2 is available independent of phonological reduction.

it looks like the N1-ed variant is generally the preferred variant, but the N1 variant is also attested in significant numbers:

ruby-throated hummingbird: 675,000 raw ghits
ruby-throat hummingbird: 22,800
ratio: 29.6

(note: some of these hits have *both* forms in the same text.)

similarly:

red-headed woodpecker: 303,000
red-head woodpecker: 23,200
ratio: 13.1

red-breasted grosbeak: 14,400
red-breast grosbeak: 477
ratio: 30.2

in contrast, the ratio for "white-tailed deer" over "white-tail deer" (where phonological reduction can motivate the second) is only 3.6.

arnold

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org